The American Foundrymen’s Association was the first industrial group to turn over the task of producing samples of standardized iron for its member industries to the NBS in 1905. Before long, the NBS was producing standard samples, now called “Standard Reference Materials (SRMs)” for hundreds of products and materials. The NBS (NIST) today produces more than 1,300 different types of SRMs and sells more than 30,000 units every year. The NBS built and patented an improved prototype of an Italian-made Radio Direction Finder (RDF) for the U. S. Navy during WWI which was used to pinpoint positions of enemy forces. Thus began the NBS’s association with America’s military forces, and opening new fields of study and endeavors relating to radio electronics. Since Metrology is the study of measurement, it is expected to enforce, validate and verify predefined standards for traceability, accuracy, reliability, and precision-repeatability. All of these are factors that would affect the validity of measurement. Although these standards vary widely, these are mandated by the government, the agencies, and some treaties. Consequently, these standards are verified and tested against a recognized quality system in calibration laboratories 1 . Metrology and the United States Air Force Organizational structures were put in place to develop and sustain precision measurement capabilities ensuring accurate, reliable, and safe air and space systems performance through effective management of the Air Force Metrology Program which was initiated in January of 1952 to comply with AF Regulation 74-2, which outlined policies and assigned responsibilities for managing the Air Force Metrology and Calibration Program. The Dayton Air Force Depot, located at Gentile Air Force Station in Dayton, Ohio, was given the authority to establish a centralized calibration program whereby Air Materiel Area Depots were given a set of measurement standards which were periodically calibrated by the Dayton Air Force Depot using standards traceable to the National Bureau of Standards. On 15 September 1957 base-level Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratories (PMELs) were established providing the Air Force with complete calibration systems that could handle the increasingly stringent measurement needs of new missile and aircraft systems. ( Continued )

1 Brighthubengineering.com